Sci-Tech news

• Dazzled by Australia's precious opals

  08-05-2015 23:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Already legally defined as Australia's "National Gemstone", the country's precious opals are punting for a new international designation - that of Global Heritage Stone Resource.
  
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• Aston Martin is making a range of powerboats that can be controlled by voice

  08-05-2015 23:33 via
  
  Luxury car maker Aston Martin, the supplier of James Bond's cars, has revealed it is working on a range of boats - but refuses to say how much they will cost.
  
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• James Bond's next boat? Aston Martin is making a range of powerboats - and luxury craft can even be controlled by voice

  08-05-2015 23:16 via
  
  Luxury car maker Aston Martin, the supplier of James Bond's cars, has revealed it is working on a range of boats - but refuses to say how much they will cost.
  
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• Image reveals the beautiful weather patterns that cover Earth

  08-05-2015 23:07 via
  
  The cloud cover map is based on data taken from July 2002 until April 2015, offering a space-based view of cloudy skies as seen by Nasa's Aqua satellite.
  
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• Thirteen years' worth of clouds on Earth: Stunning image reveals the beautiful weather patterns that cover our planet

  08-05-2015 22:24 via
  
  The cloud cover map is based on data taken from July 2002 until April 2015, offering a space-based view of cloudy skies as seen by Nasa's Aqua satellite.
  
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• Researchers solve how the brain decides if a person is male or female

  08-05-2015 22:24 via
  
  Using light to control neurons in a ground breaking technique, MIT researchers say the find solves the mystery of how primates - including humans - can recognise faces.
  
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• Star Wars superfans send X-Wing fighter into space for The Force Awakens tickets

  08-05-2015 22:11 via
  
  Phil St Pier and Matt Kingsnorth sent a model X-Wing fighter into space using a helium balloon launched near Cambridge University. The audacious stunt was captured on a GoPro camera.
  
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• 360 degree cameras let viewers sit in the driving seat of Formula E cars

  08-05-2015 21:37 via
  
  Motor racing fans are being the opportunity to virtually sit behind the wheel of a radical new racing series set to take on Formula 1.
  
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• Watch motor racing from INSIDE the car: groundbreaking 360 degree cameras let viewers sit in the driving seat of Formula E cars - and race's boss predicts they will soon outrun F1 cars

  08-05-2015 21:21 via
  
  Motor racing fans are being the opportunity to virtually sit behind the wheel of a radical new racing series set to take on Formula 1.
  
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• Having more sex DOESN'T make you happier and can make you miserable

  08-05-2015 21:02 via
  
  Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania found that sex is more about quality than quantity, and having sex too often can make some couples tired of it altogether.
  
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• Desert spider feeds HERSELF to babies in ritual that sees them feast on her guts

  08-05-2015 21:02 via
  
  Scientists at the Israel Cohen Institute have discovered the gruesome process through which Stegodyphus lineatus gives its youngsters a promising start in harsh desert-like environments.
  
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• Scientists study Sacramento woman who can spontaneously 'cure' HIV - and say she could hold the key to new treatments

  08-05-2015 20:29 via
  
  A rare group of people -- fewer than one percent of those infected -- are naturally able to rein in viral replication and keep the virus at clinically undetectable levels, doctors say.
  
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• The animal kingdom's most bizarre MOTHERS revealed

  08-05-2015 20:21 via
  
  Experts at the University of Kansas have shown how different animals display different parenting styles by picking five top mothers, including a marsupial frog (pictured) and maternal fish.
  
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• Nasa spots million light year wide gas cloud around our nearest neighbour

  08-05-2015 20:21 via
  
  The dark, nearly invisible halo stretches about a million light-years from its host galaxy, halfway to our own Milky Way galaxy, Indiana researchers found.
  
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• Mum of the year: Desert spider feeds HERSELF to her babies in grim ritual that sees them feasting on her liquefied guts

  08-05-2015 20:21 via
  
  Scientists at the Israel Cohen Institute have discovered the gruesome process through which Stegodyphus lineatus gives its youngsters a promising start in harsh desert-like environments.
  
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• Snap Me Up alarm clock only turns off when you take a SELFIE

  08-05-2015 20:13 via
  
  Snap Me Up alarm app uses face detection software to prevent users from cheating, so the only way to stop the alarm is to take a photo of themselves.
  
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• Himalayan 'drop after Nepal quake'

  08-05-2015 20:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The height of a swathe of the Himalayas has dropped by around one metre as a result of the devastating Nepal earthquake, scientists say.
  
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• Having more sex DOESN'T make you happier: Scientists claim too much time in the bedroom can make you miserable

  08-05-2015 19:45 via
  
  Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania found that sex is more about quality than quantity, and having sex too often can make some couples tired of it altogether.
  
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• Amazon's flying drones will TRACK you down to deliver your packages

  08-05-2015 19:39 via
  
  A patent filed by the company reveals how its drones (shown) will work. They will be able to lock onto your smartphone to deliver your parcel. They can also be told to deliver to another location.
  
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• Microsoft to 'end' Windows versions

  08-05-2015 18:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Windows 10 will be the last version of the operating system to be numbered, says Microsoft executive.
  
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• Kenya opens anti-poaching laboratory

  08-05-2015 17:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A forensic laboratory opens in Kenya that will build up a DNA database of wild animals to help secure successful prosecutions of poachers
  
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• Which photo gets YOU more dates?

  08-05-2015 16:53 via
  
  Research showed men dating profile pictures of the same women, one where they looked natural and the other after being enhanced with make-up. The latter group were said to look less trustworthy.
  
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• Why the naughty step works: Punishment is better than reward at changing behaviour, psychologists claims

  08-05-2015 16:49 via
  
  Psychologists at Washington University say their findings could be used to develop better teaching techniques or help parents trying to discipline their children (pictured).
  
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• Google search map reveals what countries want to buy the most

  08-05-2015 16:28 via
  
  The map was created by cost-estimating website Fixr.com, using the autocomplete formula in Google of, ‘How much does [X object] cost in [X country].
  
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• What the world wants to BUY: From plastic surgery to prostitutes, map based on Google searches reveals what countries want most

  08-05-2015 16:19 via
  
  The map was created by cost-estimating website Fixr.com, using the autocomplete formula in Google of, ‘How much does [X object] cost in [X country].
  
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• Interactive map reveals how THOUSANDS of asteroids will skim Earth

  08-05-2015 16:01 via
  
  A Google engineer in San Francisco has created an amazing interactive map of the solar system. It reveals hundreds of thousands of asteroids orbiting around the planets (shown).
  
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• Ferrari designs a supercar-inspired spacecraft with signature shapes in red

  08-05-2015 16:01 via
  
  Ferrari’s design director, came up with the sleek design at the company's base in Maranello, Italy, which he says is just for fun and the product of a love of sci-fi books and films.
  
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• Russian space officials warn spacecraft Progress M-27M may not burn up

  08-05-2015 15:52 via
  
  Russian space agency Roscosmos says most of the Progress spaceship will burn up in the atmosphere, but there is a chance some small parts will crash on to land.
  
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• Do YOU have the drama queen gene?

  08-05-2015 15:52 via
  
  Canadian researchers found a genetic variationcauses people to perceive positive and negative images more vividly, heightening activity in their brain.
  
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• Watch the next 50 years of asteroid near-misses with Earth: Interactive map reveals how THOUSANDS of rocks will skim planet

  08-05-2015 15:04 via
  
  A Google engineer in San Francisco has created an amazing interactive map of the solar system. It reveals hundreds of thousands of asteroids orbiting around the planets (shown).
  
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• Skin tissue preserved on a 2 MILLION-year-old fossil could be oldest

  08-05-2015 14:31 via
  
  Anthropologists believed they have found preserved skin from skull and jaw bones of an early human species called Australopithecus sediba, in Malapa Nature Reserve, near Johannesburg.
  
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• Is this the most beautiful UFO ever? Ferrari designs a supercar-inspired spacecraft with signature shapes and a flash of red

  08-05-2015 14:31 via
  
  Ferrari’s design director, came up with the sleek design at the company's base in Maranello, Italy, which he says is just for fun and the product of a love of sci-fi books and films.
  
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• Have scientists unearthed the world's oldest human SKIN? Preserved tissue found on a 2 MILLION-year-old fossil, expert claims

  08-05-2015 14:14 via
  
  Anthropologists believed they have found preserved skin from skull and jaw bones of an early human species called Australopithecus sediba, in Malapa Nature Reserve, near Johannesburg.
  
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• Ericsson sues Apple over payments

  08-05-2015 13:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ericsson has filed lawsuits in three separate countries, alleging Apple has not kept up with technology licence payments.
  
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• Hacker gets in-game death sentence

  08-05-2015 13:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A character controlled by a hacker who used exploits to dominate online game Guild Wars 2 has been put to death in the virtual world.
  
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• Fast food just got faster with Google's new search engine feature

  08-05-2015 13:29 via
  
  The California-based tech giant has unveiled a new search engine feature. It lets you place and order with a restaurant directly from results (shown). The service currently supports six third-party suppliers.
  
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• Apple Watch designer fuels speculation about self driving iCar

  08-05-2015 12:55 via
  
  Marc Newson, who helped design the Apple Watch, said that there's a vast ‘vast opportunity’ to make cars smarter, adding weight to rumours that Apple has a secret iCar lab in California.
  
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• VIDEO: VR and bikes - a new way to keep fit?

  08-05-2015 12:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC Click's Lara Lewington cycles through virtual snow and forests to try a new method of keeping fit
  
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• Hackers deface Nazi camp website

  08-05-2015 12:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Hackers put images of child abuse on the website of the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria - one of the Nazis' most notorious murder sites.
  
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• The picture that 'BREAKS YOUR BRAIN': Bizarre trick transforms black and white lines into red and green - and the effect can last for THREE MONTHS

  08-05-2015 12:23 via
  
  The McCullough effect was found by a psychologist in Canada in 1965, and explained by Tom Scott in a video on YouTube. It involves staring at a coloured image (shown) for several minutes.
  
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• Amazon details drone delivery plans

  08-05-2015 12:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  More details about how Amazon's proposed delivery drones will work have been published by the US Patent Office.
  
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• Copenhagen National Museum reveals Vikings wore colourful clothing and jewellery

  08-05-2015 12:06 via
  
  Researchers at the National Museum in Copenhagen claim Vikings changed the colour and design of their clothing according to the fashion trends where they lived.
  
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• 'Dementia simulator' game on show

  08-05-2015 08:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A video game simulating the impact of dementia goes on show in Dundee as part of Abertay University's digital degree show.
  
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• Rogue spacecraft burns up on re-entry

  08-05-2015 05:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Russian space agency says its out-of-control Progress spacecraft has burnt up after re-entering the Earth's atmosphere.
  
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• Facebook is NOT an information bubble: Friends hold more sway over your newsfeed than the site's algorithm, claims study

  08-05-2015 02:16 via
  
  The California-based site said that the study of 10 million Facebook users highlights that its users are getting a variety of viewpoints, and are not in a 'political echo chamber.'
  
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• Do YOU have the drama queen gene? How your brain reacts to emotional information is influenced by parents, researchers say

  08-05-2015 01:20 via
  
  Canadian researchers found a genetic variationcauses people to perceive positive and negative images more vividly, heightening activity in their brain.
  
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• 'US-German Moon team member' dies

  08-05-2015 01:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Oscar Holderer, a member of the post-WW2 German team whose rocket took US astronauts to the Moon, dies at 95.
  
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• VIDEO: Self-driving truck allowed on roads

  08-05-2015 01:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC Click's LJ Rich looks at some of the best of the week's technology news.
  
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• Why tech is getting in the way of work

  08-05-2015 01:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Why we're getting less and less done at work
  
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• Could your next iPhone have an 'invisible' display? Apple patents a hidden screen that can only be seen by machines

  08-05-2015 00:57 via
  
  The Cupertino-based company said the 'invisible' data could be in the form of machine readable information, such as barcodes, security details or QR codes that is meaningless to the user.
  
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